Interiors

Designed in 1961, this single-story home has walls of stone, exposed beams, and a cozy living area with a double-sided fireplace.

The newly remodeled kitchen, complete with European-style custom cabinets and a large center island, provides an idyllic setting for easy entertaining.

Designed by Crump Architects, the hilltop property pairs moody interiors with sweeping views of Port Cygnet.

Set in Highland Park, the four-bedroom home has wood-paneled walls, a Palos Verde stone fireplace, and a desert-style backyard.

A blue checkered Moroccan rug amps up the visual interest in the space, along with a new yellow Togo couch and Herman Miller coffee table. Switching out the mullioned windows for new tilt-and-turn windows from Semko help the space feel larger and increase energy efficiency.

"Ibiza has its own unique architecture that has suited the island for centuries and is better than any modern structure,

In Portland, Oregon, a culinary couple called on architect Michael Howells to raise the roof, revamp the floor plan, and spice up the kitchen.

Previously, a screened porch at the front left had been enclosed for additional living space, but wasn’t very usable, so Jobe and Corral converted it back to its original purpose. Now, it serves as a mudroom and a transition space before entering the living room. The preserved board and batten siding is painted Benjamin Moore ‘Kendall Charcoal’ and the ceiling fans are from Schoolhouse. Board-formed concrete replaced the brick, and new steps are formed by limestone slabs taken from the tops of quarries so that the top surface is natural.

The original layout was very much of the time: a perfect midcentury modern flow, with a closed-off kitchen and a fire put in the floor. “They were cool but impractical spaces,” says Schaer.

The rebuilt “Idea House,” designed by Holly Freres and David Horning of JHL design. The driveway is permeable to encourage good drainage: crushed granite gravel is installed over a stabilization mat. James Hardie exterior siding is painted in Benjamin Moore ‘White Dove,’ with reclaimed wood used for the entry and garage.

"You can see that language is still there with the sort of two pitched roofs. There is another pitched roof behind that as well, which is the main extension at the back of the house, but you can't really see it from the street,

View from the existing home looking down into the back yard. The DADU is meant to read as a simple planter rather than detached building.

Renovated in stages over the course of a decade, a home in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood proves the power of thoughtful design using humble materials.